Pipe racks

ABSTRACT

A pipe rack and a method for making a pipe rack where the pipe rack may include at least one foundation, two legs, and a horizontal support. The two legs are supported by the at least one foundation. Each of the two legs includes at least one aperture. The horizontal support has two ends. The first end is located in an aperture in a first leg of the two legs and a second end of the horizontal support is located in an aperture in a second leg of the two legs. A rod forms a joint between the foundation and one of the two legs. The rod is located in the aperture in the upper surface of the foundation and in an aperture in a lower surface in the one of the two legs.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/740,306, filed Jun. 16, 2015, which is acontinuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/689,589,filed Apr. 17, 2015, which issued as a U.S. Pat. No. 9,420,885 on Aug.23, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/306,326, filed Jun. 17, 2014, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,032,677on May 19, 2015. Each of these applications is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates generally to racks for supportingpipes, especially pipes at a refinery.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Oil refineries include many chemical processing units, each removing oneor more hydrocarbons from a mixture of many. Extensive piping runsbetween all of these processing units and various holding tanks. Thispiping is generally supported off the ground by steel racks. Eachsection of rack including two legs and at least one horizontal supportbar is generally called a bent.

A first problem that arises with the present pipe racks is that if oneof the pipes leaks liquid or gas that catches fire, an intense fire cancause the steel bent to lose its structural integrity. This will thencause the rest of the pipes on that bent to lose support, possiblyrupturing the other pipes as well. This can cause a single leak to turninto a catastrophic fire and/or explosion. Thus, racks impervious tofire would avoid this problem.

Further, the location and orientation of each bent is very important toensure the correct support of the pipe, including the correct slope tothe pipe (if any). Steel bents require that the foundation of each legbe determined very accurately to ensure accurate placement of the bent.This is very time consuming, leading to greater cost and delay whenbuilding the refinery. Accordingly, a pipe rack that can be placedwithout such additional labor is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention broadly comprises a pipe rack and a method formaking a pipe rack. In one embodiment, the pipe rack may include atleast one foundation, two legs, and a horizontal support. The two legsare supported by the at least one foundation. Each of the two legsincludes at least one aperture. The horizontal support has two ends. Thefirst end is located in an aperture in a first leg of the two legs and asecond end of the horizontal support is located in an aperture in asecond leg of the two legs. A rod forms a joint between the foundationand one of the two legs. The rod is located in the aperture in the uppersurface of the foundation and in an aperture in a lower surface in theone of the two legs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present subject matter, includingthe best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, isset forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a close up perspective view of a horizontal strut;

FIG. 4 is a top cutaway view of the joint between the leg and thehorizontal support;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a first embodiment of the joint between the legand the horizontal support;

FIG. 6 is top view of the insertion process for inserting the horizontalsupport into the two legs;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a second embodiment of the joint between theleg and the horizontal support;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a second embodiment of the joint between theleg and the foundation;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a second embodiment of the joint between theleg and the foundation;

FIGS. 10A-C are views of a second embodiment of the horizontal support;

FIGS. 11A-C are views of a third embodiment of the horizontal support;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are views of a second embodiment of the struts;

FIGS. 13A-C are views of a second embodiment of the vertical support;

FIG. 14 is a front view of a third embodiment of the joint between theleg and the foundation;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are cross sectional views of the third embodiment ofthe joint between the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of the third embodiment of the jointbetween the leg and the foundation;

FIGS. 17A-C are views of a first embodiment of a method for making thejoint between the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 18 is a view of a second embodiment of a method for making thejoint between the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the jointbetween the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the jointbetween the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the jointbetween the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a joint between theleg and an upper column;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the joint between theleg and the upper column;

FIGS. 24A and 24B are cross sectional views of the third embodiment ofthe joint between the leg and the upper column;

FIG. 25 is a cross sectional view of the third embodiment of the jointbetween the leg and the upper column;

FIGS. 26A-E are views of a third embodiment of a method for making thejoint between the leg and the foundation;

FIG. 27 is a cutaway view of an embodiment of the joint between the legand the foundation; and

FIG. 28 is a cutaway view of an embodiment of a joint between the legand an upper column.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference is presently made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thepresent subject matter, one or more examples of which are illustrated inor represented by the drawings. Each example is provided by way ofexplanation of the present subject matter, not limitation of the presentsubject matter. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and variations can be made in the presentsubject matter without departing from the scope or spirit of the presentsubject matter. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present subject mattercovers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of thedisclosure and equivalents thereof.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of an apparatus 10for supporting pipes in accordance with the present invention. Apparatus10 may also support other equipment such as power lines, or otherobjects. Further, as described herein, apparatus 10 is made ofpre-stressed concrete so as to be impervious to fire. However, piperacks as described herein made of other materials such as other fireimpervious materials are also within the scope of the present invention.

Apparatus 10 includes foundations 20, legs 30 located on foundations 20,horizontal supports 40, and horizontal struts 50 (shown in close up inFIG. 3). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, foundations 20 may be placedapproximately 20 feet apart in the direction of the pipe, andapproximately 25 feet apart in the direction perpendicular to thedirection of the pipe. However, different or irregular distances arealso within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 also shows that legs 30 have four apertures 32 for receivinghorizontal supports 40, two of which include horizontal supports 40. Anynumber of apertures 32 or horizontal supports 40 are within the scope ofthe invention. Further, any number or length of horizontal struts 50 arealso within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, apparatus110. Apparatus 110 includes foundations 20 placed at double the spacingshown in FIG. 1. Apparatus 110 also includes legs 30, horizontalsupports 40, and horizontal struts 150. However, horizontal support 40may also be supported by horizontal struts 150 at locations equidistantbetween foundations 20. Thus, the same spacing of horizontal supports 30is maintained, while the number of foundations 20 is halved. This candramatically increase construction speed, as laying the foundations canbe very labor intensive.

Horizontal supports 40 may be joined to horizontal struts 150 and legs30 by either of the joining methods shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.

FIG. 4 shows a cut away top view of the joint between leg 30 andhorizontal support 40. Leg 30 may have pre-stress strands 34 extendingin the vertical direction. Both the inside of aperture 32 and theoutside of the portion of horizontal support 40 that is received inaperture 32 may include shear key surfaces 31 and 41 to strengthen theadhesive bond between leg 30 and horizontal support 40. The volumebetween leg 30 and horizontal support 40 is filled with an adhesive 36,which may be an ultra-high performance concrete or grout. In oneembodiment, leg 30 is 36 inches wide and 30 inches long (in thedirection of the horizontal support 40).

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a first embodiment of the joint between leg30 and horizontal support 40. In this embodiment, horizontal support 40is surrounded on all sides by adhesive 36. The only gap in adhesive 36is due to steel shim 38. In one embodiment, horizontal support 40 is 18by 32 inches, and steel shim 38 is 4 by 4 inches in area and 2 inchesthick. Thus, the steel shim lifts the horizontal support 40 off of thebottom of aperture 32 before the adhesive 36 is added to the spacebetween the leg 30 and the horizontal support 40. This allows for aroughly even thickness of adhesive 36 around the four sides of thehorizontal support 40. Horizontal support 40 may also include pre-stressstrands 42 extending in the horizontal direction.

Accordingly, aperture 32 is significantly bigger than horizontal support40. For example, aperture 32 may be 22 by 36 inches and support 40 maybe 18 by 32 inches. Thus, roughly 2 inches of space on each side can befound between the aperture 32 and horizontal support 40. This equates tolateral dimensions of support 40 being 81-89% as big as thecorresponding lateral dimensions of aperture 32. Supports 40 havingdimensions from 50%-90% of the corresponding dimension of aperture 32are within the scope of the invention. Further, cross-sectional areas ofthe support 40 are from 40%-75% of the cross-sectional area of aperture32.

This space allows for significant adjustment of the configuration of thesupport 40 when connecting the support 40 to legs 30. Therefore, thelocation of foundations 20 does not need to be exact, as errors can becorrected by adjusting the amount of space between the support 40 andthe aperture 32. The two inch allowance on each side of the support 40described above allows for correcting errors of up to approximately 1.75inches in the placement of foundations 20. In contrast, foundations forsteel bents must be placed within a tolerance of 0.5 inches or less.Moreover, the present inventors discovered that there is a 1:0.9 ratioof the distance allowance between the support 40 and the aperture 32 andthe distance tolerance for the foundations 20.

In this regard, FIGS. 1 and 2 show foundations 20, legs 30, horizontalsupport, and apertures 32 that are rectangular prisms. However, anyother shapes or cross-sectional shapes for the foundations 20, legs 30,horizontal supports 40, struts 50, and apertures 32 are within the scopeof the invention.

FIG. 6 shows the process for constructing the present pipe racks. Thefoundations 20 are already placed and the legs 30 are inserted therein.The horizontal supports 40 are then inserted into the apertures 32 byinserting end 40A into aperture 32A, drawing the support 40 into theaperture 32A until the end 40B clears the opposite leg, and then movingthe opposite end 40B into the aperture 32B of the opposite leg.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the joint between leg 30 andhorizontal support 40. In this embodiment, aperture 32 is much longer inthe height direction than support 40. Horizontal support 40 is thensurrounded on only three sides by adhesive 36. (A steel shim may be usedas shown in FIG. 5). Then an additional portion of concrete 39 is pouredinto the aperture 32 above the support 40. As shown in FIG. 7,reinforcement 39A can be placed in aperture 32 before pouring theadditional concrete. The concrete portion 39 thus locks support 40 intoplace, while leaving the upper part of aperture 32 open. This additionalspace allows for even greater adjustment of the support 40 in thevertical direction. The vertical adjustment may be critical when thefoundations 20 are being placed on ground that may be uneven.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the pipe racks of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, foundation 220 includes an aperture 221in a top surface (shown in FIG. 17A). Connection bolt 222 is located inthat aperture and extends into an aperture 231 (shown in FIG. 18) in abottom surface of leg 230. Connection bolt 222 may be held in place withan adhesive such as grout. FIG. 8 also shows the end view of horizontalsupports 240, and also shows the extended strut 250. Strut 250 extendsbetween four horizontal supports 240, two on each of adjacent legs 230.Strut 250 also includes apertures 252. Apertures 252 can be sized andlocated to allow pipes splitting off from the main pipes on the rack topass through. Apertures 252 may also lower the weight of strut 250without significantly reducing the structural integrity of the piperacks.

FIG. 9 shows another view of the pipe racks shown in FIG. 8. Legs 230may also include additional supports 232 to carry additional load fromthe horizontal supports 240. As shown in FIG. 9, the lower two of fivehorizontal supports receive additional support in this manner. However,any configuration of additional supports 232 is within the scope of theinvention.

FIGS. 10A-10C show views of horizontal support 240. Horizontal support240 includes a tube 241 that passes horizontally through the support.This allows the passage of, for example, wires through the support. Thesupport also includes steel reinforcement rectangle 242 and steel rods244 that may run the length of the support. Finally, a top surface ofthe support includes connector 246 which allows the pipes that run overthe pipe rack to be secured to the horizontal support 240. For example,screws could be used to connect to connector 246 to secure brackets (notshown) over the pipes to the horizontal support 240.

FIGS. 11A-11C show an alternative embodiment of horizontal support 240,which is labeled 248 in FIG. 9. Alternative horizontal support 248 alsoincludes a tube 241, but the tube is closer to a center of the support248. Alternative horizontal support 248 includes steel reinforcementrectangle 242, steel rods 244, and connector 246 in a similar manner assupport 240.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show views of strut 250. As noted previously,apertures 252 may be sized and located in any configuration within thescope of the invention.

FIGS. 13A-13C shows views of leg 230. As shown in FIG. 13C legs 230include steel reinforcement rods 234.

FIG. 14 shows an alternative embodiment of the joint between thefoundation and the leg. Foundation 220 includes an aperture 221 in a topsurface that has connecting rod 270 located therein. The space aroundrod 270 is filled with grout 300. Grout bearing plate 290 is locatedover the grout 300. Rod 270 extends upward from foundation 220 into anaperture 231 in leg 230 that is bounded on the sides by rod 236. Rod 236is cast within precast leg 230. The volume between rod 236 and rod 270is also filled with grout. The grout enters the volume through groutinlet 237 and excess grout exits through grout exit 238. Leg 230 alsoincludes passages 282 on each face of the leg. Bolts 280 pass throughpassages 282. Bolts 280 may be used to plumb the leg 230 by contactingrod 270 near the top of rod 270.

In one embodiment, rods 270 and 236 may be made of hollow structuralsteel. In one embodiment, rod 270 is 7 inches by 7 inches by ⅜ inchthick and rod 236 is 9 inches by 9 inches by 3/16 inch thick. However,different dimensions are within the scope of the invention.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 16 are cross sectional views taken of the structureshown in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 also shows lugs 251 welded to rod 236 near thelower end of rod 236.

FIGS. 17A-17C show one embodiment of a method of constructing the jointbetween foundation 220 and leg 230. Step 1 is shown in FIG. 17A wherefoundation 220 including circular aperture 221 is placed. Rectangularrod 222 is then inserted in aperture 221 and an adhesive such as groutis placed in aperture 221 after rod 222 is plumb, as shown in FIG. 17B.Grout plate 290 is then placed over the grout joint in FIG. 17C, and thefoundation is ready to receive the leg 230.

FIG. 18 shows another embodiment of a method to create the joint betweenthe foundation and the leg. Foundation 220 including square aperture 221receives rod 222, which is then placed in aperture 231 of leg 230.

FIG. 19 shows another embodiment of the present invention. Structure1000 includes foundation 1020, leg 1030, deck 1080 and upper leg 1130.Foundation 1020 is connected to leg 103 by splice 1025. Leg 1030 isconnected to upper leg 1130 by splice 1090. Deck 1080 may be used tosupport pipes, planking for building a floor, or any other structure.

FIG. 20 shows a close up of splice 1025. Foundation 1020 includes anaperture 1021, which in one embodiment may be made by a corrugated ductcast into the precast foundation 1020. Leg 1030 includes inner rod 1236which is the outer bound of a volume filled with grout. The grout entersthe volume through grout entry 1237 and excess grout exits through groutoutlet 1238. Each face of leg 1030 includes a passage 1282 through whicha bolt 1280 passes. These bolts are used to plumb the leg 1030 as notedhereinafter. FIG. 21 shows a perspective cutaway view of this jointbetween the foundation and the leg and FIG. 27 shows a side cutawayview.

FIG. 22 shows a perspective view of joint 1050 between leg 1030 andupper column 1130. This allows the structure to be built in severalstages, allowing greater height for additional structures. Joint 1050also includes a rod 1270 that is inserted in an aperture in the bottomof upper column 1130. The top of leg 1030 includes inner rod 1236 whichis the outer bound of a volume filled with grout. Inner rod is precastwithin the upper portion of leg 1030. The grout enters the volumethrough grout entry 1237 and excess grout exits through grout outlet1238. Each face of leg 1030 includes a passage 1282 through which a bolt1280 passes. These bolts are used to plumb the leg 1030 and upper column1120 as noted hereinafter. FIG. 23 shows a perspective cutaway view ofthis joint between the leg and the upper column and FIG. 28 shows a sidecutaway view.

FIGS. 24A, 24B, and 25 are cross sectional views taken of the structureshown in FIGS. 20-23. FIG. 25 also shows lugs 1250 welded to rod 1236near the lower end of rod 1236.

FIGS. 26A-E illustrate one method of making joint 1025 (joint 1050 ismade in a similar manner). First, foundation 1020 is placed withaperture 1021 therein, as shown in FIG. 26A. Rod 1270 is placed withinaperture 1021 and grout 1300 is placed surrounding the rod 1270, asshown in FIG. 26B. FIG. 26C shows that bearing plate 1290 is placed overthe grout to maintain the grout in the desired configuration. FIG. 26Dshows leg 1030 being placed over rod 1270. FIG. 26E shows that bolts1280 may then be tightened into passages 1282 to contact the rod 1270 tochange the angle of the leg 1030 with respect to foundation 1020. Thisallows the leg 1030 to be quickly and easily plumbed with respect tofoundation 1020. Finally, grout is pumped through grout entry 1237 tofill the empty volume within leg 1030 to solidify the joint.

Accordingly, pipe racks that are impervious to fire may be constructedwith less labor and more adjustability, reducing cost and improvingperformance. Therefore, a substantial cost savings may be gained byusing the present method and apparatus for constructing pipe racks.

The present written description uses examples to disclose the presentsubject matter, including the best mode, and also to enable any personskilled in the art to practice the present subject matter, includingmaking and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporatedand/or associated methods. While the present subject matter has beendescribed in detail with respect to specific embodiments thereof, itwill be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining anunderstanding of the foregoing may readily produce alterations to,variations of, and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, thescope of the present disclosure is by way of example rather than by wayof limitation, and the subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion ofsuch modifications, variations and/or additions to the present subjectmatter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A structure comprising: at least onefoundation defining an aperture on an upper surface of the at least onefoundation; two legs, one of the two legs being supported by the atleast one foundation, a lower surface of each of the two legs definingat least one aperture; a horizontal support having two ends, a first enddisposed in an aperture defined in a first leg of the two legs and asecond end of the horizontal support disposed in an aperture defined ina second leg of the two legs; a first rod forming a joint between the atleast one foundation and one of the two legs, the first rod disposed inthe aperture in the upper surface of the at least one foundation and inthe aperture defined by the lower surface of said one of the two legs; asecond rod disposed within the aperture defined in the lower surface ofone of the two legs, wherein the second rod defines a hollow space andreceives the first rod within the hollow space; and a passage definedthrough a side of the one of the two legs and through a hole in thesecond rod, the passage being threaded such that a distal end of athreaded bolt can be advanced into the passage to contact a side of thefirst rod within the hollow space of the second rod and move the firstrod relative to the second rod.
 2. The structure according to claim 1,wherein: a first hole is defined through a side of the one of the twolegs, the first hole being in communication with the hollow spacedefined by the second rod.
 3. The structure according to claim 2,wherein: a second hole is defined through a side of the one of the twolegs, the second hole being in communication with the hollow spacedefined by the second rod.
 4. The structure according to claim 1,wherein the one of the two legs has four lateral sides, each sidedefines a passage therethrough, and a bolt is extendable through one ofthe passages.
 5. The structure according to claim 1, wherein a spacebetween the first rod and the aperture in the at least one foundation isfilled with an adhesive.
 6. The structure according to claim 5, whereinthe adhesive is grout.
 7. The structure according to claim 1, whereinthe hollow space between the first rod and the second rod is filled withan adhesive.
 8. The structure according to claim 7, wherein the adhesiveis grout.
 9. The structure of claim 1, wherein the two legs and thehorizontal support are a first set of two legs and horizontal support,the structure further comprising: at least one second foundationdefining an aperture on an upper surface of the at least one secondfoundation; a second set of two legs, one of the second set of two legsbeing supported by the at least one second foundation, a lower surfaceof each of the two legs defining at least one aperture; a secondhorizontal support having two ends, a first end of the second horizontalsupport disposed in an aperture defined in a first leg of the second setof two legs and a second end of the second horizontal support disposedin an aperture defined in a second leg of the second set of two legs; athird rod forming a joint between the at least one second foundation andone of the legs of the second set of two legs, the rod disposed in theaperture in the upper surface of the at least one second foundation andin the aperture defined by the lower surface of the one of the two legsof the second set of two legs; and a fourth rod disposed within theaperture defined in the lower surface of each leg of the second set oftwo legs, wherein the fourth rod defines a hollow space and receives thethird rod within the hollow space, wherein first and second sets of legsand the first and second horizontal members are arranged relative toeach other such that a plane bisects the first and second horizontalmembers.
 10. The structure of claim 9, wherein the first and second setsof legs and first and second horizontal supports comprise concrete. 11.The structure of claim 1, wherein the legs and horizontal supportcomprise concrete.